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BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
V.-THE CEDAR RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 
The Cedar River basin properly forms a part of the Iowa River basin, but owing to 
the fact that above the junction of the two rivers the Cedar River is much the larger 
stream, it seems best to treat the latter separately. 
The Cedar is the second largest river in the State and one of the most picturesque. 
Together with its northern tributaries it rises in southern Minnesota. Its general 
course is southeast as far as Moscow, about 15 miles from the Mississippi River, where 
it turns almost at right angles and, flowing southwest only about 30 miles, empties 
into the Iowa River. The current of the Cedar River is swifter than that of either 
the Des Moines or the Iowa. Its bottom for the most part is sandy, especially above 
Moscow, but there are occasional stretches of mud and some rocky patches. 
The Cedar basin is an undulating prairie, with considerable timber along both the 
main river and its tributaries. There are also many bayous and small ponds which 
are connected with the river at ti m es of high water. In the larger bayous, where 
there is much swamp vegetation, pickerel and various species of sunfishes abound. 
The largest bayou is near Cedar Rapids. On the maps it is usually designated as Cedar 
Lake, but locally it is known as the “ Slough.” It is about three-fourths of a mile wide 
and 2 miles long, and is fast filling up at present. It is connected with the river at 
all times of the year, contains an abundance of vegetation, and abounds with sunfishes 
and bullheads. Some black bass and pickerel and many mudfish are also taken from 
its waters. The Slough is decidedly the fishing- ground for the small boys of Cedar 
Rapids, and I have often seen them on their homeward trip with strings of bullheads 
and sunfishes about as long as the average boy himself. 
At Austin, Minnesota, the river is little more than a large creek. The bottom is 
mostly sandy, but there are occasional stretches of deep water with muddy bottom. 
Aquatic vegetation is scarce and confined to small patches in shallow water. At the 
time of our visit the volume of water had been much reduced by dry weather. Its 
temperature on July 25, 1890, was 71° F. Turtle River is a tributary of the Cedar and 
empties into it near Austin; its current is sluggish and its bottom mostly muddy; it 
is fed by large marshes and shallow lakes. Rose Creek, another small tributary near 
Austin, is fed by springs, has a very rocky bottom and a swift current; pickerel 
seemed especially abundant in it; its temperature on July 25, 1890, was 69° F. 
The Cedar River at Waverly is very much larger than at Austin; its banks are 
bordered with a rather heavy growth of timber; its bottom is very sandy, and its 
water clear; its temperature on July 31 was 74° F. 
The Shellrock River is not much smaller than the Cedar above its junction with the 
latter, which it much resembles except that its banks are less heavily timbered. Its 
temperature on July 31 was 74° F. Fishes were about as abundant as in the Cedar 
River. Near Waverly there are some large springs. We seined in one of the spring- 
branches on the west side of the Cedar River, where the water was less clear than in 
other similar branches. Fishes were scarce; its temperature was 58° F. 
The west branch of the Cedar River is formed by two small creeks near Dumont. 
The average width of these creeks is less than 30 feet; their bottoms are sandy, with 
some mud; timber is scarce along their borders. One of them is termed the main 
fork, the other is called Hartgraves Creek. Near Dumont is a small lake connected 
